Laos forum

Daily durect bus service between Sam Neua and Thanh Hoa

tf_geckozy

Joined Travelfish2nd September, 2008Posts: 77

I posted same one into "Viet Nam" but i noticed it's better here than VN so one more time---

Now there exist several direct bus services beteween Sam Neua and Thanh Hoa , and the massages at Sam Neua East & South bus stations & Luang Prabang North bus station & Nong Khiaw bus station are telling us about those direct bus services, but all of them are not daily service but 3&#65374;4 buses a week at least now.

DAILY DIRECT BUS SERVICE
To the contorary, there exists another one "Daily" direct bus service between Sam Neua and Thanh Hoa operated by a Vietnamese bus company "Ban Chung & km 88" in Thanh Hoa city and it’s covering 7 days a week(=every day) by 2 micro buses from both sides of Sam Neua and Thanh Hoa , and this direct bus leaves not East or South bus station in Sam Neua but “a Vietnamese restaurant” in city center.

I took this direct bus for going to Sam Neua Mar.25.2010, but not at Thanh Hoa city but at Quan Son(=55 km before Na Meo) after 1 overnight there, and before that i travelled from Ha Noi to Mai Chau via Thanh Hoa for checking the existence of direct bus, so actually i left Mai Chau for going to Sam Neua after staying at Mai Chau 4 nights before crossing NaMeo/NamXoi border.
*DEPARTURE POINTS & TIME
*Departure point in Sam Neua is a Vietnamese restaurant near the bridge after crossing it, and opposite side of "Internet Service" along the road that leads to Sam Neua East bus station & Vieng Xai village & NamXoi Lao border gate . This restauarnt has no original name on the board but have a letter in Vietnamese "Quan An"=restaurant. Bus picks up passengers here around 08:00am every morning.

*Departure point in Thanh Hoa city is Thanh Hoa West bus station(=Ben Xe Phia Tay) same to other direct buses and buses going to Quan Son and Na Meo town. Departure time is 08:00am(no ticket).
*THE BUS FARE
The ticket counter at Thanh Hoa West bus station and a Vietnamese restaurant in Sam Neua don’t sell tickets to us for this direct bus so we have to pay it in the bus and now i'll show you several “sample fares” for avoiding too much overcharging and useless confliction as below.
1) If you buy a ticket for a direct bus at the ticket counter of Sam Neua East or South bus station ---180,000Kip (about 21.4 USD=official ticket price) now.
2) A woman working at the ticket counter of Thanh Hoa West bus station replyed to my question---between Thanh Hoa to Sam Neua is 300,000VND (about15.4 USD) and betwewn Thanh Hoa and Na Meo is 200,000VND (about10.5 USD).
3) A Vietnamese guy working at a Vietnamese restaurant(departure point in Sam Neua) told me secretly--local Vietnamese pay 200,000VND(about 10.5 USD) for a “Daily” direct bus from Sam Neua to Thanh Hoa.
4) Money collector in the bus asked me to pay 200,000VND for only a short section from Quan Son(=55 km before NaMeo border) to Sam Neua but i paid half of the price he asked --100,000VND only.( he was maybe tired of my “non stop-machine gun talk”??? and was exausted with it)
HA NOI TO THANH HOA/MAI CHAU
And if you want to take a direct bus after leaving Ha Noi, your arrival time to Thanh Hoa is not be in time for the departure time of 08:00am morning, so you have to stay at Thanh Hoa city 1 overnight or stay at Quan Son or Na Meo town on the same day you leave Ha Noi (and then catch a direct bus next day on the road). From "Ha Noi Giap Bat"=south bus station to Thanh Hoa North or Lien Tinh bus station along NR.1, it takes about 4 hours, and from Thanh Hoa West bus station to Quan Son, it takes about 4.5&#65374;5 hours. This direct bus leaves Thanh Hoa West bus station at 08:00am every morning and arrives Sam Neua city center(=a Vietnamese restaurant) at around 17:30pm evening.

For taking a direct bus going to Sam Neua,you have to shift to West bus station=departure point of direct bus after arriving Thanh Hoa North or Lien Tinh bus station, but if you take a direct bus next morning at West bus station, you had better stay at around North or Lien Tinh bus station because there are many small guesthouses=“Nha Tro” around West bus station but almost of them are not permitted by Cong An police to let us foreigners stay and actually they will refuse us.

Between "North" bus station and "West" bus station, a small city bus is running as a cirquit bus every 20 minuites from morning to evening(5000VND/10minuites) Of course, taxi or motorbike taxi is available.
And if you can spend your time for 1 overnight on the way before NaMeo/NamXoi border, for example, at Quan Son or Na Meo town, it’s easy for you to catch this direct bus next day on the road and also easy to cross border and reach to Sam Neua or Vieng Xai village by it.

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wayan_bob

Joined Travelfish1st December, 2010Posts: 3Total reviews: 3

Thanh Hoa to Sam Naeu by bus. 4/3/15
We arrived at the bus station, 1 hour before scheduled departure, in an attempt to secure better seats. A sort of prudent move although some seats were already claimed with bags, no seat was better than anyother. If you are over the average Vietnamese/Laotian in height, then you are in for a tough ride as your knees are jammed against the seat in front of you.The prudent of arriving early was also to prevent them jamming boxes of freight under your feet, which would mean, you would have to travel in an upright foetal position for the entire trip. The â€œBâ€™sâ€ placed a giant sack of rice under my feet while we at the border, making the last few hours hell for my wonky knees.
The last 4 rows of seats was a solid wall of freight. The isle was laden with sacks of stuff that you trod on to get access to your seat. Every inch of space under seats was taken with boxes and the roof grew the bus another 30% in size.
A very aggressive man who was supervising the loading demanded money NOW and wouldnâ€™t budge on his over inflated price VND600,000 or LKP300,000. We departed at 8.15am and arrived at Sam Naeu at 8.15pm. Along the way we had unscheduled stops for; get out and walk 2km up a steep hill, because the bus canâ€™t make it. (I know it was 2km because we got out the 55km marker and got back on at the 53km marker) The radiator boiled dry, which involved many trips to the local stream with 2ltr water bottles. On the Vietnam side, road works started March 2014 and are scheduled for 2 years. Our journey was lengthened by excavators, trucks and man-madeavalanches, blocking the road for different time periods.